Fort squashers dominate at Lakehead

Fifteen Sunset Country squashers (men, women, and juniors) invaded Thunder Bay last weekend and dominated the Northwestern Open.
Three event winners emerged, along with three runner-ups, four consolation winners, and two “tinner” winners.
The eight local juniors on the trip were victorious in seven of the eight events, leaving coaches Bob and Mary-Beth Tkachuk quite impressed with the play and conduct of their charges.
Juniors from Thunder Bay, Kenora, and Fort Frances participated in the tourney and the future looks good for placing players on the regional squash team for the 2008 Ontario Winter Games.
This undoubtedly was the best showing of the Sunset Country Squash Club in tournament play.
The results were as follows:
•Colin Drombolis won the ‘A’ consolation crown by defeating Mark Norton of Kenora 3-1 in the consolation final;
•Bob Tkachuk captured the ‘B’ event by reeling off three-straight wins, culminating with a 3-1 victory over fellow firefighter Shawn Donahue of Thunder Bay;
•Junior Steve Boileau, playing in the ‘B’ event, won the consolation title after defeating Eric Brady of Thunder Bay in a hard-fought battle (3-2);
•Fellow junior Chad Faragher finished with a 2-2 record in the ‘B’;
•In the men’s ‘C’ event, Mary-Beth Tkachuk was the runner-up after being blanked 3-0 by Kelly Rahiri of Thunder Bay in the final;
•Dave Gustafson finished with a record of 1-2 to get the “tinner” award. Jan Vassbotn also had a win and two losses in the ‘C’ event;
•In the junior advanced division, Anniss Seid was the champion with three-straight wins, including a 3-0 victory over fellow junior Donny Brown in the final;
•Michael Brady was the consolation winner after beating Mitchell Thorgrimsen of Kenora 3-1;
•Kimika Alexander, also competing in the junior advanced division, finished with two losses and a “tinner” win over Michael Murphy of Thunder Bay;
•In the beginner junior event, Anika Alexander was champion with three-straight wins, with the toughest being over fellow squasher Jillian Gustafson in an exciting 3-2 victory;
•Jillian Gustafson reached the finals against Anika courtesy of her two-straight wins over Thunder Bay opponents;
•Novice squash player Ryan Brady had a good showing, earning the consolation title with a 3-2 win over Steve McKenna of Thunder Bay; and
•Novice Bryson Skirten also played well, earning 3-0 win over David McKenna of Thunder Bay before losing a pair of close matches.
Next up for local squashers is the men’s annual Boxing Day tournament and the local junior Christmas break tournament on Dec. 28.